master recipe: pâte à choux dough

68 Pinches 20 Photos
Wichita, KS
Updated on May 18, 2016

This is a master recipe on making one of the cornerstones of French baking: pâte à choux dough [paht ah shoo]. Once you master this dough, you will be able to make all kinds of sweet and savory items. Pâte à choux is a mixture of simple ingredients: flour, water, milk, eggs, but the proper technique is essential. And unlike other pastry dough, this one is pre-cooked on the stovetop. When you take them out of the oven, they are so light, you're going to think that they'll float off the baking sheet. So, you ready… Let’s get into the kitchen.

prep time 25 Min
cook time 20 Min
method Bake
yield many

Ingredients

  • PLAN/PURCHASE
  • 8 tablespoons sweet butter, unsalted
  • 1 cup filtered water
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, kosher variety, fine grind
  • 1 cup flour, all-purpose variety
  • 4 large eggs

How To Make master recipe: pâte à choux dough

  • Step 1
    PREP/PREPARE
  • Step 2
    Gather your ingredients.
  • Step 3
    Place the butter, and the water into a saucepan, over medium heat.
  • Step 4
    When the butter is melted and the liquid is simmering, add the salt, and stir to combine.
  • Step 5
    Dump in the flour all at once, and begin stirring, using a wooden spoon.
  • Step 6
    Chef’s Note: You’ll be doing a lot of stirring.
  • Step 7
    Continue to stir, making sure you incorporate all of the flour into the liquid.
  • Step 8
    Keep stirring until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the saucepan, about 3 to 4 minutes.
  • Step 9
    Continue to cook and stir for an additional 2 to 3 minutes.
  • Step 10
    Chef’s Tip: Start stirring gently until the liquid and the flour are incorporated. Then get more vigorous and slap the dough against the sides of the pan. Eventually, the dough will pull away from the sides, and leave a film on the bottom of the pan. When that happens… you can stop stirring, and remove the pan from the heat.
  • Step 11
    Remove the dough from the pan, and place into a stand mixer bowl, fitted with a paddle attachment, and allow the dough to cool for 5 to 7 minutes.
  • Step 12
    Chef’s Note: You could perform the next steps by mixing with a wooden spoon; however, life’s too short for that, and I’ve done enough stirring for one day.
  • Step 13
    Put the stand mixer on slow speed and add the eggs, one at a time.
  • Step 14
    Chef’s Tip: Allow each egg to fully incorporate into the dough before adding next.
  • Step 15
    At the end of the process, the dough should look nice and creamy.
  • Step 16
    A BASIC RECIPE
  • Step 17
    Place a rack in the middle position, and preheat the oven to 425f (220c).
  • Step 18
    Place heaping tablespoons of the mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, and separate each ball by 1 inch (2.5cm).
  • Step 19
    Chef’s Note: I prefer to use a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.
  • Step 20
    Place into the preheated oven, and bake for 20 minutes.
  • Step 21
    Reduce heat to 375f (190c), and continue to bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until the pâte à choux are nice and golden.
  • Step 22
    PLATE/PRESENT
  • Step 23
    Dust with some powdered sugar, and serve while still nice and warm. Enjoy.
  • Step 24
    Keep the faith, and keep cooking.

Discover More

Culture: French
Method: Bake
Ingredient: Flour

Comment & Reviews

ADVERTISEMENT
Just A Pinch Sweepstakes